Kitchen & Dining Room, Family Room – Cincinnnati

October 15, 2016 By

I have work with DeVol Design and Build on two major and several small projects and fixes. The first project was a complete gut of the kitchen and dining room. This project involved an architect and structural engineer, all major systems (heating, electrical, plumbing) and new floors, walls, changing doors, brick work, welding,…..you get the idea. The first contractor to look at the project was arrogant and talked to the architect not the owner – next! Jeff and his team listened to me and my needs and wants. I did not look for the third bid. I had very specific ideas about the material for the counter tops and cabinets and floors, but appliances and colors and tile were beyond my limited male brain. The beauty of DeVol was that they have a wonderful design specialist that patiently and quietly helped me fill in all of the needed design gaps by listening when needed and suggesting when asked. Between the design aspects and the construction questions I never heard “No.” Working together we resolved every expected and unexpected issue. Hopefully you can see the pictures. The space is gorgeous!

The second major project was a complete redesign of the family room that involved jack hammering out the floor and removing all walls and the ceiling. This time I simply called DeVol, no additional bids needed this time. Again, this project was complicated with structural analysis, multiple sub contractors and some novel and interesting answers to some unique questions. The three most exciting features for me are: the recycled ceiling beams, the radiant heat poured concrete floor and the fabulous, custom barn door the greatly enlarged entrance. Again, I hope you can see the pictures!

Enough stories.
Pros:
1. Careful documentation and communication. Project notebook and the mailbox for communication was perfect.
2. On-site project lead. The same person there every day to oversee every aspect of the project was priceless. Dave is more than competent in his own right but we talked either face to face or over the phone everyday about the progress of the project. One could not ask for a more responsive system.
3. Design support. Allyson’s contribution, especially to the kitchen project was invaluable. No client knows everything about everything and having the design input available is one of the strengths of DeVol that sets them apart.
4. Finances. The projects were on budget or we agreed to the variances. We discussed additions or changes ahead of time and most of the time additional expenses were my personal preferences.
5. Timing. Appropriate communication ensured that both major projects were on target or we all understood changes that were needed.

Cons:
Actually there are none!

I recommend DeVol Design-Build-Remodel, LLC. frequently and keep several of their card on my refrigerator for when friends ask “Who did the work!”